The best art galleries in New Orleans

If you’ve ever been to New Orleans, you’ll know that it’s one of the art as well as jazz capitals of America and that the streets are filled with galleries after galleries where you can peruse and browse to your heart’s content.

A culture vulture’s paradise, the gallery culture of the French Quarter and beyond is part of the city’s quintessential charm, but can prove overwhelming if you’re short on time. So if you’re looking to catch the most unique, charming galleries in the city on your trip in one quick hit, here are my top picks of the art goodies that you can’t miss.

Start off at the Carol Robinson Gallery in Napoleon Avenue, just off of Magazine street. New Orleans’ shops and galleries have a habit of being set within historic houses, but this one really feels like a home. Step inside by ringing the doorbell and you are greeted like a long-lost friend by the veritable gallery host, and browse this light and airy living-room space. The paintings here are all works by contemporary Southern artists, coming from a range of different influences and directions, but all fusing together in Nola harmony on the calming white-washed walls. The artwork is curated to channel the true spirit of New Orleans; the dark jazz rooms, the abstract colours and the avant garde, with pieces ranging low enough in price to actually be affordable as a unique souvenir. As an avid postcard collector on my travels, my favourite part was the postcards dotted around the gallery underneath the paintings, depicting the images above in miniature, which visitors can take away in order to contemplate their experience (or, in my case, poster onto their walls). And perhaps best of all, the gallery is planning to open a garden in the near future with a range of sculptures to explore in situ, so make sure that you check it out whilst the sun is still shining.

840 Napoleon Avenue (at Magazine Street), New Orleans, LA 70115 Tel: (504) 895-6130  |  Email: [email protected] Gallery Hours: 10AM-5PM – Tuesday-Saturday; Monday by appointment only

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Just around the corner from this welcoming place lies the Antieau Gallery, at 4532 Magazine Street. Equally friendly but with a thoroughly modern, warehouse feel about it. This gallery has chic written all over it. The art here is more rugged, colourful and real. The works displayed here are the product of textile artist Chris Roberts-Antieau, whose use of stitching, texture and material is fascinating. Chris’ message is to never give up, telling the story of her educational failures and the importance of life and creativity over learning through her bright and light embroidery. ‘My work is about joy’, she writes in her inspirational artist’s statement, available to take away from the gallery with you in poster form, and it really is a joy to see.

Main Gallery: 927 Royal St. New Orleans, LA 70116 Tel: (504) 304-0849 Hours: Every Day 10am – 8pmSecond Gallery: 4532 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115. Tel: (504) 510-4148 Hours: Monday through Saturday 10am – 6pm; Closed Sunday

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But most of the galleries in the city are dotted around the French quarter, primarily in Royal Street, so this should without a doubt be your next stop after the Garden quarter. Because there are so many galleries on this one street, aimlessly drifting from one to another is truly part of the experience, if you have the luxury of time.

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Be sure to pop into Gallery Orange en route, as this contemporary space is truly something different. It’s boutique, hands-on, and the art is at the cutting-edge of the Nola culture scene. This British-Dutch owned gallery has a wonderfully European vibe, selling works in the genres of abstract, figurative and pop-art amongst many other pieces. It’s light and inviting and the perfect foil to the other antique galleries on the street. I promise you it won’t fail to surprise and astound. So, culture vultures, rejoice! New Orleans is your long-awaited Mecca of art and the streets await you to explore both the galleries on this list and beyond.